ST. GEORGE — Utah Republican Rep. Chris Stewart may be planning to step down from Congress sometime this week.
The Salt Lake Tribune reported Tuesday that multiple sources told the paper Stewart is planning to resign from Congress due to ongoing health issues related to his wife.
Stewart’s office has not yet responded to inquiries from St. George News concerning the congressman’s potential resignation.
If Stewart does resign, he will be the second Utah congressman to do so since 2017, when then-Rep. Jason Chaffetz resigned and soon after became a pundit on Fox News.
His resignation would trigger the need for a special election under state law. Gov. Spencer Cox will have seven days from the time the resignation is announced to schedule a primary election and special election. The special election will likely be held in November and coincide with the state’s municipal elections unless the Legislature decides on a different date.
Stewart was elected in 2012 to serve as the representative of Utah’s 2nd Congressional District, which geographically covers a majority of the state’s western half and runs from Salt Lake City into southwest Utah where it encompasses Washington and Iron counties.
In the 2022 midterm elections, Stewart defeated Democratic challenger Nicholas Mitchell by a 30% margin.
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